1956 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham Concept

High bid of $460,000 at 2011 RM Auctions - Automobiles of Amelia Island. (did not sell)
Sold for $258,500 at 2012 RM-Automobiles of Arizona.
This one-of-a-kind 1956 El Dorado Brougham Town Car is one of the rarest concept cars. Known as XP-48 it was featured in the General Motors 1956 Motorama 'Highway of Tomorrow' and later that year was featured in the Paris, France Auto Show.

It is made of fiberglass and stands 55.5 inches tall with a 129.5-inch wheelbase. The rear compartment is done in beige leather with all appointments in gold. The chauffeurs' area is done in black Moroccan leather.

Initial plans called for the Eldorado Brougham, which used a different body than the rest of the Cadillac line, to go into limited production in 1956. It would take another year to come about, so instead, another Brougham dream car made the show circuit, the Town Car. Unlike the 1955 Eldorado Brougham and the 1957 production car, it used fiberglass body construction. It featured an open compartment in black Moroccan leather for the driver and an enclosed beige-themed passenger abode.

Among the features awaiting the driver were radio-telephone, air conditioning controls, women's vanity, cigar humidor, thermos bottle, and glassware.

An electronic locking system both secured the doors when the vehicle was in motion and opened the center-opening doors when needed. Larger than the 1955 Brougham, it was 219.9 inches long and 55.8 inches high. Wheelbase was 129.5 inches. Save for the construction and roof design, the 1956 Town Car pretty well illustrated what was the come in 1957.

It was ordered destroyed but the salvage yard owner could not bring himself to destroy the car and covered it with a tarp where it remained until 1989.